


cleanup duty

by Kitty Eden (TheBigCat)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (Big Finish Audio)
Genre: Alternate Universe: Demons, Demon Who, Gen, Nonbinary Character, meetings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-25
Updated: 2018-05-25
Packaged: 2019-05-13 15:41:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,054
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14751677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBigCat/pseuds/Kitty%20Eden
Summary: Students these days, always summoning demons between classes and inadvertently causing the beginnings of beautiful friendships.





	cleanup duty

**Author's Note:**

> i was tryna flesh out this au on tumblr and this ended falling out of my brain

Doctor Evelyn Smythe is in the university staff room, about to enjoy her lunch during the first break she’s had in _hours_ when someone calls in, saying that there’s some sort of disturbance in one of the lower dormitories. And through some cruel, awful twist of fate, _she_ ends up being the one sent out to deal with it. She heads out, grumbling quietly to herself, and resolves to sort it out as quickly as possible – and next time, somebody else can take care of it.

When she enters the room that’s apparently the source of the disturbance, she immediately sees exactly what’s going on. It’s rather obvious, because it looks like the local occult chapter of the university has decided that it would be an excellent idea to set up a summoning circle, complete with candles, incense, and honest-to-god  _animal sacrifices._ It’s by no means the worst she’s seen, working at the university, but - it’s close. It’s so very close. 

She sighs, rolls her metaphorical sleeves up, and prepares to exercise her greatest amounts of authority in order to shut this down as quickly as she can, so she can get back to lunch (and the chocolate cake that’s waiting there). “now, really,” she says, as loud as she can manage over the chanting and murmuring, pushing her way through the crowd of wannabe student cultists (there seem to be a lot of them around nowadays). “If you want to be expelled from the campus, I must say, you’re doing a  _very good job of trying-”_

Flash. Bang. General explosion that really does feel like nothing on earth ever could, and a burst of energy and  _heat_  that sears through the room, and there, standing in the middle of the summoning circle, shaking dust off themselves, is a very real, very  _present_ being who is utterly unmistakable as, well - a demon.

“Oh shit,” yells a student (presumably they weren’t intending the summoning to actually  _work_  or anything) and the cry is taken up by almost every student in the room. There’s general screeching and chaos and in less than a minute, the entire congregation of twenty-plus college students that had been there performingthe ritual in the first place have vacated the building, and possibly the country. The only ones left are the very tall, very colourful demon in the centre of the summoning circle (who is having to bend awkwardly down in order to prevent their horns from bumping into the ceiling), and professor Smythe, who is taking a moment or so to compose herself, because, you know. She really wasn’t expecting something like  _this_ during her lunch break.

“Right,” she says, eventually getting control of her vocal chords back and directing the demon with her best  _well what homework excuse do you have for me this time_ look. “And what sort of mess do you call  _this?”_

“This?  _This?_  Well, it was hardly my fault!”

Their voice is surprisingly British for a being that was probably summoned from a dimension completely unlike the one that Evelyn is used to, and they sound a lot more offended at being accused of the mess than she was expecting. She watches them sweep a gaze around the room, and visibly grimace when they see the…well, sacrifice, is the only word for it. 

“This - this is a  _preposterous_ setup! Positively uncouth! I mean - look at this!”

“I am looking at it,” Evelyn agrees dryly, eyeing the discarded assorted viscera and animal parts. “It’s, quite frankly, disgusting.”

“I couldn’t agree more, my dear woman. Really - what sort of creature do they think I am? The sort to go appearing at any amateur adherent’s beck and call?

“I mean,” says Evelyn after a second, at a loss for anything else to say, “… you are here. That is to say, it  _did_ work for them.”

“Work?  _Work?” T_ he demon draws themself up to their full height, which was definitely a bad idea, because the ceiling isn’t as study as it looks. Their horns end up scraping into it rather deeply, and plaster rains down on the ground around them. There is a brief pause and a flash of what might have even been guilt passes swiftly across their face, but it only lasts for a second. They plough on as if nothing had happened. “My dear  _woman -”_

“Doctor Smythe,” Evelyn interrupts.

“-what.”

“My name. My students generally refer to me as ‘Doctor Smythe’, and I’d prefer it infinitely if you did too.” 

Another beat. The demon attempts to regain their composure. “-my dear  _Doctor Smythe._ It only  _worked,_ as you put it, because I  _allowed_ it to - otherwise I wouldn’t be here at all. I sensed a rather unusual presence here that required my, ah, unique capabilities, and this seemed the perfect opportunity to go investigate.”

“Right,” Evelyn says, and gives them an entirely unimpressed  _look._ “You can save the investigation – and explanation - for later. You’re cleaning this all up.”

They sniff. “I will do no such thing.”

“Oh yes, you will,” Evelyn says. “Because I have just twenty minutes of my lunch break left, and if I don’t get back in time to eat my chocolate cake,  _heads will roll_. And not just that of this poor deceased,” she looks down at the viscera, and winces again. “…rabbit? Presumably? Poor creature,” she mutters, half-to herself.

There is a pause. The demon actually looks hopeful, for a reason that becomes obvious when they speak again. “…. Chocolate cake?”

“Yes. And –” Evelyn stops; realizes that she now has a position to bargain from. “All right. How about this. I’ll get some cleaning supplies from the cupboard down the hall, we can sort this out together, and when we’re done, we can go back to my office, split my cake, and,” she adds, because she’s feeling rather curious despite herself, “talk about this…  _investigation_ of yours. How does that sound?”

“It sounds absolutely splendid, as a matter of fact,” says the demon, and if she’s not mistaken, they smile at her - widely and genuinely. “Did I introduce myself? I don’t believe I did.”

“You did not.”

The demon extends a claw to her, oddly gently - like they’re offering a polite handshake of greeting – and smiles again. “My friends generally call me the doctor.”

And despite herself, Evelyn smiles back.

 


End file.
